In the previous episode, we had witnessed Sage Maarkandeya’s heart-melting and a wonderful accord on how he obtained the divine “Anugraha” of Bhagawan Vishnu in the form of Bhagawan Baala-Gopala. He explains how the little child was floating on top of a banyan leaf amidst the rising flood waters during the intense “Pralayam” that was taking place. As he went closer to the little child, Sage Maarkandeya was pulled into the child’s nostrils by just one inhalation! As Sage Maarkandeya entered the child’s body, he was able to see the entire world inside, including the mountains, rivers, plains, oceans, etc., along with his ashram and himself too! Upon having this vision, Sage Maarkandeya became confused for a moment as to how can he see his ashram both inside and outside of the child’s body! As this confusion was looming large like this, he was pushed out of the child’s body with the child’s exhalation! The entire vision was just for a few minutes and Sage Maarkandeya realized the enormity of what he had just seen! As he requests the child to reveal its identity, Sage Markandeya comes to know that this child is none other than Bhagawan Vishnu Himself, who later advised him to continue his deep penance and all the spiritual practices that he was performing.
Moving on further, Bhagawan Vishnu continues His talk with Sage Maarkandeya thus, “Oh Maarkandeya! Today you’ve witnessed something that not many people in this world haven’t! This is a divine “Anugraha” for you. I decided to give this opportunity to you because you’re a “Sathvik” person and you know how to use this “Anugraha” for the betterment of the world. Hence, please do not disclose this to anybody. However, you can talk about this to people who are as spiritually advanced as you. I’m not stopping you from doing that. But please mind who you’re sharing these incidents with!” This is a very important lesson for all of us as well – If we’ve had some divine experiences, however small or big it might be, we should not keep sharing it with anyone and everyone whom we meet! If we’ve obtained some experiences like that, it is better to keep it within ourselves, as Bhagawan has given it confidentially to us. Instead, if we go and talk about these things to others, first of all we never know how the other people might take it. Some people might feel jealous and would cause unwanted stomach-burns! They would start pitting against us in some way or the other. Not all people will take these things in the right sense. Thus, we need to understand clearly as to whom we should talk about what. This is very important, especially on the spiritual front. Of course, in our professional setup also this is something that all of us should understand as well. Just because someone might be closer to us, it is not an imperative to immediately open up all our grievances and problems to that person. We might not really know how that person would see our problems, isn’t it? Chances are high that some people might use our problem to make merry and in some cases, make money as well through various blackmailing techniques! Hence, we should never go and fall into such traps, and the best way to protect ourselves from these traps is to remain silent over such issues.
Emphasizing thus, Sage Maarkandeya tells Yudishtra thus, “Oh Yudishtra! As per Bhagawan Vishnu’s direct advice to me, I shouldn’t be sharing this experience of mine with anybody, however, as He Himself had given the exception, I’ve shared my divine experience with you and your brothers, because you are all embodiments of “Dharma”, and you would take this in the right sense and learn from it. I disclosed this secret to motivate and induce you more into “Bhakti”. Of course, Bhagawan Baala-Mukunda (Bhagawan Krishna) is right beside you here. Hence, what more do you want? Use this golden opportunity to learn as much as possible from Bhagawan Krishna who is roaming around closely with you wherever you go! Oh Yudishtra! Please do not worry about your future – If Bhagawan is there with you all the time, what more do you want? He will protect you from all problems that you’ve to encounter. Moreover, I’m saying all this because Arjuna is here too – I know that Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna are closely bonded to each other. In the future, Arjuna is going to obtain something from Bhagawan Krishna directly, just like how I obtained this divine “Anugraha” from Bhagawan Vishnu directly. That time is going to arrive. Hence, all of you should cheer up and enjoy Bhagawan’s divine presence along with you!”
As Sage Maarkandeya keeps explaining thus, he looks at Yudishtra who is completely lost in his thoughts! Sage Maarkandeya quickly understood the reason why Yudishtra is feeling lost! He quickly pats Yudishtra on his shoulders and asks him thus, “Oh Yudishtra! It seems you’re in a deep thought. What are you thinking about? Are you thinking that just like how Sage Maarkandeya had obtained a divine experience from Bhagawan Vishnu, I should also obtain one like this?” As Sage Maarkandeya asks thus, Yudishtra replies back, “Oh great Sage! Indeed yes! I’m lost in that thought only! Where would I obtain such a vision? Where is Bhagawan Vishnu? How can I even see Him with my two eyes?” We should note here that Yudishtra is still asking this question even after Sage Maarkandeya talked about Bhagawan Krishna sitting besides all of them just now. This shows how the “Yoga-Maaya” around Bhagawan Krishna is so powerful that it eludes everybody! In other words, even though Bhagawan Krishna is Bhagawan Vishnu Himself, He doesn’t disclose it so easily with anyone, including Yudishtra and Co. Of course, Arjuna is going to get glimpses of it later on, but again, he too is not going to retain the fact in his mind that Bhagawan Krishna is supreme and all-pervasive! Now that Yudishtra has asked this question, Sage Maarkandeya’s reply to this question is going to be very significant! Let us wait till the next episode to find out what Sage Maarkandeya is going to reply! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 